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Discipline: Arts Education

Clay Musa

Clay has been a Tracy resident since 1982. He retired from the telephone company after a 30-year career.

 

After retirement, Clay became a Docent at the Haggin Museum in Stockton and a volunteer instructor at the Stockton Institute for Continued Learning at Delta College. In addition to printmaking, he enjoys travel, playing the guitar, wine making, gourd art, and stained glass.

 

Clay received a Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Behavior from the University of San Francisco and a Master’s Degree in Multimedia from Cal State Hayward. 

 

You may contact Clay at kibspm@gmail.com for more information about his classes. 

View Clay's Classes Here

Zoe Nelson

Zoe Nelson is a local artist, having completed their undergrad with a BFA in Studio Arts Ceramics at CSU Sacramento where they explored technique, process, and cultivating one’s ever-growing love for clay. With an interest in surface design, Zoe likes to work heavily with implied texture in both the sgraffito and Mishima techniques. Using the ceramic body as a canvas for design they continue to experiment with form, firing types, and different genres of imagery in their work. They find design work to prove meditative and enjoy pushing the bounds of the functional sculpture.
View Zoe's Classes Here

Dan Ocampo

Dan is a avid salsa dancer with over 20 years of dancing experience. Dan has been teaching both Salsa and Rueda de Casino classes for adults for 15 years, primarily in the Stockton area. He is excited to offer Rueda de Casino dance classes at the Grand.   You may contact Dan at salsaocampo@comcast.net for more information about his classes!
View Dan's Classes Here

Carol Ponsaran

Carol is a member of the Tracy Art League. Carol Ponsaran is an artist, educator, and homeschooling parent with 20 years of teaching experience, providing visual arts programs to public and private schools throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and San Joaquin Valley. She believes art to be a fundamental part of an individual’s continuous growth and development, from one’s formative childhood years throughout adulthood.

 

“Experiences in art and art-making foster creativity, open-mindedness, confidence, and encourage us to look at the world around us from different and endlessly changing perspectives,” she says.

 

Carol Ponsaran holds a degree in the Practice of Art from the University of California, Berkeley, and has shown her work throughout the United States, including in San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Chicago, and Cleveland. Her paintings, drawings, and mixed media work can be viewed at www.ponsaran.wordpress.com.  

 

You may contact Carol at c.ponsaran@gmail.com for more information about her classes. 

View Carol's Classes Here

Jenny Taloa

Jenny Kini Taloa is an accomplished award-winning Tahitian dancer with over 20 years experience in Polynesian performing arts. She has traveled within the islands of the pacific and beyond performing for cruise ships, NFL charities, corporate and celebrity events.   Jenny’s main focus is to bring the Polynesian culture to the community for children 5 years old and up through dance art expression.   You may contact Jenny at sivapolynesia@yahoo.com for more information about her dance classes!
View Jenny's Classes Here

Luis Valverde-Maceo

Luis, a native of Cuba, studied ballet, modern dance, and Latin percussion from an early age. Since he completed his formal education at the National School of Art Instructors in Havana, Cuba, Luis has taught music and dance, performed, and choreographed extensively throughout Cuba for 20 years.

 

Luis has enjoyed teaching music and dance to people of all ages, but he especially loved the years spent teaching dance and percussion to deaf children in Guantanamo. His teaching experience in Cuba includes being a dance professor at the Casa de Cultura (Cultural Center) and the Escuela de Arte (Art School) in Guantanamo. He also taught dance music at the Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de Guantánamo (Medical University of Guantánamo) and was a choreographer for several dance companies.

 

Since relocating to California in 2001, Luis has directed and taught Salsa and Afro-Cuban dance workshops throughout the Tri-Valley and Bay Area in various dance studios. He has also taught Salsa and percussion classes in many local schools, such as Amador Valley High School in Pleasanton, Livermore High School, California High School in San Ramon, Acalanes High School in Lafayette, etc.

 

Since 2007, Luis has been an instructor at Las Positas College, teaching Salsa, Zumba, Hip Hop, and Ballroom dances.
In addition to teaching dance, Luis also plays the congas, bongos, and other Latin percussion instruments and performs in many venues throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.  

 

You may contact Luis at valverdemaceo@hotmail.com for more information about his classes. 

 

View Luis's Classes Here

Vince Walsh

Vince Walsh was born and raised in Oakland, California and resided in Tracy, California for over 30 years. Vince has been painting for over 35 years, mostly outdoors and in the studio. His style of painting is a blend of realism and impressionism with a preference to paint still life and landscapes in oil and acrylic. His goal is to express a realistic and painterly approach that allows the viewer to participate in the painting.   Vince was fortunate to have studied with Van Waldron, who encouraged him to develop his own style. He also studied with Delores DePharr and E John Robinson. Vince is a member of “The Valley Sun Catchers”, “Friday Painters” and “Da Group” a group of Plein Air Painters. He is also a member and past president of the Tracy art League. Vince has been offering painting classes with the Arts Education Program at the Grand since it opened in 2007.
View Vince's Classes Here

H-ART Therapy

H-ART Therapy was founded by Natasha Blakely. Natasha always dreamed of being a professional artist, but the harsh realities of life have a way of pushing childhood dreams aside. Leaving her artistic aspirations behind, Natasha found herself working in a corporate profession. Looking for a change, she started teaching art and she loved it. Pushing aside her self-doubts, Natasha spent 15 years helping others discover their creative side. Her confidence in herself and her abilities grew. Natasha also experienced the therapeutic benefits of art through teaching her students. With her childhood passion rekindled, she was ready to begin a transformative journey. Sketching had been her medium of choice for years. But it became too comfortable, too easy. She wanted to challenge herself. Could she paint? She’d never painted before. Now the paintbrush would express her passion, her vision. As a self-taught artist, Natasha was determined to find her own way, her own voice. “Mistakes” and “happy accidents” were part of that journey. Now she wants to guide others to help them boost their confidence, take pleasure and heal through painting. As an art coach and the founder of H-ART Therapy, Natasha believes that “creativity takes courage” and that everyone is an artist and has something to share. Discover the creative passion in you. Whether you’re just starting to paint, been painting for a little while or have been painting for years. We invite you to join the fun in a safe, judgment-free environment. See you in art class!
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Such A Voice

Our mission at Such A Voice is to provide you with the framework necessary to thrive as a successful and profitable voice-over professional. As one of the first voice-over training & demo production companies in the business, and with 30+ years of experience, we at Such A Voice are extremely proud of our A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, and the many positive reviews that you’ll find about us on Facebook, our website, and throughout the web. We feel that we’re rated so highly because of our deep focus on you, our customer, and our devotion to constant and never-ending improvement. In order to fulfill on our mission, we have created what we feel is the most comprehensive voice-over training & demo production program in the industry. Over the past few years specifically, our program has evolved and improved by leaps and bounds. Learn more about Such A Voice and their instructors at: www.suchavoice.com
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Tracy Community Band

The community of Tracy has a long history of community bands, dating back to the late 1880s. The current organization was started in 1982. Three of the founding members still perform in the band. The Tracy Community Band is comprised of approximately 55 amateur and professional musicians. The youngest musicians are high school students who perform at the recommendation of their high school director. And the oldest musicians are retired professionals with a long history of serving the community of Tracy. The community band includes a traditional concert band, a jazz band, and a small jazz ensemble. They meet weekly for a rehearsal and regularly perform for the community. Their season is August-May and includes concerts of various themes, including a highly popular Christmas concert. They end their season by playing for the Tracy Memorial Day Service at the cemetery each year.  The community bands are available to perform at community events and seek to provide quality arts education to Tracy and surrounding communities.